Abstract: A stoneblower having a workhead and associated blowing tubes that adjust to skewed ties and to nonvertical tie faces. The workhead provided several degrees of movement to the blowing tubes, enabling them to be individually aligned with each tie along the length of track being worked. The blowing tubes can be pre-tilted to match the face angle of the ties. Proper location of the blow tubes is detected by monitoring the tilt change of the tube engendered when the tubes engage the ties. The blowing tubes include an elongated stone exit opening that extends both above and below the tie when the tube is inserted into the ballast. The opening therefore provides a stone discharge below the tie and an overflow above the tie. A finger extends from the lower end of the blowing tube to enable the stoneblower to sense the location of the railroad track ties without scooping ballast into the tube openings.

Abstract: An ultrasonic railhead investigating apparatus is described wherein a side looking transducer is used with a lens to focus the beam in a manner whereby rail defects in the sides of rail head are more readily detected. In one form of the invention a side rail investigating transducer is provided with a curved emitting surface and so located as to place the focused acoustic beam between a side of the rail and the rail center. The curved emitting surface can be part of a cylindrical surface aligned parallel with the longitudinal axis of the rail or a spherically shaped emitting surface to provide a conically shaped beam for investigating the side of a rail.

Abstract: A railway rail fastening clip (1) suitable for holding down a railway rail (2) is formed from a rod of resilient material bent so as to be approximately M-shaped in plan, the clip (1) being such that, when it is bearing on the flange of a rail (2), the longitudinal axis of a part (14) thereof, which interconnects inner legs (13, 15) of the M, lies in a reference plane which is substantially parallel, but not identical, to a plane containing the longitudinal axes of outer legs (11, 17) of the M. Such clips (1) are used with an anchoring device (5), which, as the clip (1) is installed therein, deflects the outer legs (11, 17) downwardly with respect to the inner legs (13, 15), so as to place the clip under stress.

Abstract: A railway rail fastening clip (1) suitable for holding down a railway rail (2) is formed from a rod of resilient material bent so as to be approximately M-shaped in plan, the clip (1) being such that, when it is bearing on the flange of a rail (2), the longitudinal axis of a part (14) thereof, which interconnects inner legs (13, 15) of the M, lies in a reference plane which is substantially parallel, but not identical, to a plane containing the longitudinal axes of outer legs (11, 17) of the M. Such clips (1) are used with an anchoring device (5), which, as the clip (1) is installed therein, deflects the outer legs (11, 17) downwardly with respect to the inner legs (13, 15), so as to place the clip under stress.

Abstract: An ultrasonic rail flaw detection system and technique are described for the detection of flaws in the sides of rail heads. An ultrasonic transducer is oriented, sized, and so-located so as to produce an ultrasonic beam within the head whereby at least a portion of the beam will intersect a lower side corner independent of the curvature of the rail head running surface and the amount of head wear. The presence of premature reflections or the or absence of reflections can be used to detect flaws such as vertical fractures in the rail head. The side-looker is so oriented as to produce a beam in the rail head that lies within 45.degree. to 75.degree. of the normal to the rail surface. The side-looker can further be so located that its beam does not interfere with or be interfered by beams from other transducers used to investigate the rail and mounted in the same wheel assembly as the side-looker.

Abstract: A pad, suitable for spacing the bottom of a railway rail from a rail foundation on which the rail stands, comprises a plate-like rail-supporting portion (1), made of cushioning material, having an upper main face supporting the rail and softer, resiliently-deformable, sealing portion (3) located at a peripheral region of the lower main face of the rail-supporting portion (1). When the pad is placed on a rail foundation and a rail is placed on the upper main face of the rail-supporting portion (1), the sealing portion (3) deforms under the weight of the rail so as to form a substantially watertight seal, between the rail foundation and the pad, around the periphery of the pad.

Abstract: A rail pad comprises a membrane (3) from opposite faces of which there project protrusions (4, 5), which may be ribs, possibly extending along the pad, perhaps over its whole length, or studs. The protrusions are such that no line perpendicular to the membrane passes through more than one of the protrusions. The pad is such that it is stiffer on one side than the other, for example because the ratio between the total area of protruding material and the total area of membrane free of protrusions is greater at the stiffer side of the pad than the other. The pad is preferably made of thermoplastic copolyester elastomer.

Abstract: Insulators which lie between the rail and elastic rail fasteners are correctly positioned on either side of the rail by manipulating the rail by the application of a pulsed force to either side of the rail. A pair of hydraulic rams 19, 20 driven by the same pressure pump are used to drive two pulse heads 9, 10 via pivoted linkages to abut either side of the web 3 of a rail 1. The pulsating operation is carried out prior to the operation of the clip fitting machine to ensure that the rail insulators are in the correct initial position prior to being driven on to the rail flange.

Abstract: A rail clip applicator for automatically positioning and installing spring clips into the shoudlers of rail ties for securing rails to the ties. A superstructure rolls along the track from tie to tie carrying a large supply of clips. The superstructure carries two carrier frames. Each carrier frame carries two applicator assemblies disposed on either side of a track rail. Each applicator assembly carries a clip magazine and a head assembly, the head assembly carrying a clip shuttle, a drive block, and a backup block. Clips are loaded into the magazine. From the magazine, clips are serially dispensed to a clip grasping means at the end of a clip shuttle arm. The arm extends to hole the clip in position for being driven into a tie shoulder. The backup block presses against the rear of the shoulder, and the drive block moves the clip from the clip graspign means into the shoulder.

Abstract: The specification discloses an improved railroad track curve liner for more accurately locating track transition points to more accurately calculate an improved track configuration as a funcion of the existing track configuration. The curve liner is mounted on a track tamper. During a first pass over the track, the curve liner acquires track ordinate information. After calculating the ideal track configuration, the tamper laterally shifts the track to the ideal configuration in a second pass over the track. The improved track configuration is calculated in recognition that the ordinate graph is not linear in all areas--particularly at tract transition points.

Abstract: An apparatus for measuring the profile of a rail head includes a base, an actuating unit, a carriage and a sensing device. These components cooperate to laterally move the sensing device across the width of the rail as it is moved longitudinally along the length of the rail, so that a single sensing element may be used to measure the profile of the rail head.

Abstract: A pad has a base portion, which lies on a foundation and on which a flange of a railway rail lies, and upstanding side portions extending upwardly from opposite sides of the base portion and formed with a recess in which lies a part of a rail clip. The pad may have sideways-extending portions for projecting on opposite sides of a clip-retaining member and it may also have projecting islands, possibly chevron-shaped, on one face or on both faces. The base portion may be one member made of soft material and this may be fixed to a separate member made of harder material which is formed with the side portions and the recess.

Abstract: An anchoring device (1) anchors a clip (60) to a foundation (50) for a railway rail (66). It has a head part (2) formed with a horizontal passageway (4) which is wider than it is high. In an upstanding wall section (5) there is a recess (6) and this receives a projection (52) on an electrically insulating bushing (51) which fits in the head part (2). The bushing has a passageway (53) through it and this receives two legs (61) and (62) of an e-shaped clip, the cross-section of the passageway having the shape of an athletics race track. The device (1) has a tail part (3) with projections (22 and 23) above which the tail part is of cruciform cross-section, with vanes (26 and 28).

Abstract: A railway rail-fastening clip, made by bending an initially straight rod, is approximately in the form of a letter e. The axies of all parts of the clip, except possibly the free end of the lower arm of the e, lie in a single plane. The rod may have a length less than 15 times the thickness of the rod. A retaining arrangement for the clip may have an opening in which lie the center arm and the upper arm of the e, the lower arm of the e pressing downwardly on the flange at the bottom of a railway rail. The opening may be in an electrically insulating bushing in a clip-retainer made of metal.

Abstract: A bushing of electrically insulating material has a passageway, of elongate cross-section, through it. The bushing is inserted in a clip-retaining member and the latter is supported in a mould into which a wet cement mix is poured so that a concrete railway sleeper is formed and the clip-retaining member is held in the concrete with the passageway above the concrete. A center arm and an upper arm of a substantially e-shaped clip are driven into the passageway and a lower arm of the clip bears downwardly on a flange of a railway rail.

Abstract: The invention provides an elastomeric rail pad of generally rectangular plan configuration, the pad having an upper face adapted to underly the lower face of a rail, and a lower face adapted to overly a rail foundation member, wherein each of the upper and the lower faces of the pad is provided with a multiplicity of distinct and separate portions, when separately viewed from adjacent side edges of the rectangular pad, raised above the base level of the respective face and adapted to engage the rail or the foundation member respectively, the arrangement being such that between approximately 30% and 70% of that part of each face of the pad which is arranged to lie directly between the rail and the foundation member is constituted by the raised surface portions.

Abstract: A device to be placed on a railway sleeper (1) or some other foundation for a railway rail (3) includes a pad (2) and two upstanding portions (6A). The pad (2) is of resilient and electrically insulating material and the upstanding portions (6A) are of stiffer electrically insulating material. At least two-thirds of the area of the pad (2) has none of the stiffer material above or below it. Preferably the upstanding portions (6A) are at least 150 mm. long and are on elongate members (6) which have ears (6B) at opposite ends which extend under only corners of the pad (2), where they are secured by spigots (2E) projecting into holes (6C).

Abstract: An elongate plate, for use in a railway frog or switch to receive two inclined rails which stand on the plate and on another plate like it and are to be anchored thereto, has an elongate hole through it, with the length of the hole being parallel to that of the plate. A recess is formed in the underneath face of the plate at one end of the elongate hole by counterboring after the elongate hole has been formed by punching, the recess forming a widening of the undersurface region of the elongate hole at that end thereof. Correspondingly, an associated clip anchoring device includes an upper part for anchoring a rail clip and a lower part which has an inverted T shape.

Abstract: An apparatus for use in measuring relative movement between two structures is described. A support (7) having bores for receiving input and output optical fibres (2, 10) is mounted on a plate (24), secured to one of the structures, at a predetermined position using alignment means (50). A filter (8) is fixed relative to the other structure so that light passing down the input fibre (2) passes through the filter (8) to the output fibre (10). The filter comprises a split field filter so that when light of two wavelengths is transmitted via the input fibre (2), the intensity of light at each wavelength transmitted through the filter (8) depends on the position of the filter relative to the support. An analogue output proportional to the displacement is provided using the transmitted intensities. The invention is particularly applicable to measuring displacement of a railway rail with respect to an underlying structure, and a method and installation for this are described.

Abstract: A railway tie plate has at least one rib to locate a railway rail and two arches under which parts of rail clips can be driven parallel to the rib. It can be made by deformation of a conventional tie plate designed for use with fastening devices for holding the rail on to the tie plate other than rail clips which are driven parallel to the rail.